THE PRESENT INDICATIVE OF 'HABER'

In order to form the present perfect, we need to learn the present indicative forms of the verb ‘haber’ which is similar to the verb ‘tener’ - to have, but is used only to express ‘has’ or ‘have’ in the present perfect as in ‘I have done something’ or ‘She has done something’.

THE PRESENT PERFECT

Now that you have seen the present indicative of ‘haber’ and we know how to form the past participle of regular ‘ar’, ‘er’ and ‘ir’ verbs let’s take a look at a few examples:

He trabajado mucho todo el día – I have worked a lot all day¿Has comido estas galletas? – Have you eaten these cookies? Hemos hablado con sus hermanos – We have spoken to his brothersEllos han traído mucha comida – They have brought a lot of foodElla ha visitado la ciudad varias veces – She has visited the city many times

USE OF THE WORD 'YA'

The word ‘ya’ can be used to express something you have already done. Sentences can be formed by starting with the word 'ya' and following with a verb in any of the past tenses; for example:

Yahemos comido todo el pollo – We have already eaten all the chicken¿Yahas terminado la tarea? – Have you already finished the task?Yavieron la película – They have already seen the movie¿Yafuiste a la escuela? - Have you already been to the school? (literally, have you already gone to the school? or were you already at the school?)